


Putting Down Roots

by Joylee



Category: Uprooted - Naomi Novik
Genre: F/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2019-02-16 13:46:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13055199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joylee/pseuds/Joylee
Summary: He's still stiff, prickly, impatient and sure he knows everything.  She would not have him any other way.





	Putting Down Roots

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Bodldops](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bodldops/gifts).



“Come and meet my mother,” I said. I reached out and took his hand.

“I suppose it’s inescapable.” He grumbled. But he squeezed my hand and let me lead him over to the table where mother sat. 

Or rather stood next to. She had jumped up, smoothed her skirt and patted at her hair as we walked toward her.

“Sarkan, this is my mother.” 

“My lord.” My mother made an awkward bob. 

Sarkan returned a smooth half bow. “Goody Galinda. Agnieszka speaks of you often with great fondness.”

Mother’s doubtful look probably came from the idea of _anyone_ speaking of her to our lord, rather than any doubt as to my fondness. “She’s a good daughter, my lord.”

“Really. Given my own experience in teaching her magic I would have assumed she had driven you half mad when she was a child.”

“She did.” Mother admitted. “But that just makes her our Nieshka not a bad daughter.”

“True. She would not be Agnieszka if she were less contrary.” Sarkan agreed.

Mother was losing her wariness. She was still eyeing Sarkan, but now she seemed to be sizing him up as the man holding her daughter’s hand.

The nervous man holding her daughter’s hand. He cleared his throat. “I brought an addition to the fest.” Sarkan produced a bottle of vodka and set it on the table. 

Mother blinked. Sarkan had clearly put some thought into the selection of his offering. Rather than bringing a bottle of wine or the fancy spirits from the capitol, he had brought a bottle of the best vodka produced by the distiller in Olshanka. The valley bragged that our drink was as good as anything the capitol produced. (Sarkan’s wine cellar boasted finer, but the liquor I had tried in the capitol was certainly no better.) My parents would not be intimidated by a bottle of Olshanka vodka, but he brought the best, showing he put the highest value on the offer.

For around the top of the bottle was a fine selection of late fall flowers from the wood, tied with a red silk ribbon. The traditional opening offer of a suitor for a daughter’s hand in marriage.

“Thank you, my lord. Agnieszka, can you get us some mugs, while I get your father?” 

This too was tradition. Sending the daughter for drinking vessels gave her the opportunity to decline the suitor by simply leaving and not coming back rather than having to turn him down to his face. Mother smiled at me knowingly. She knew I would not be disappearing.

I grabbed some copper mugs from the next table of over and thumped them down next to the bottle. Grinning at Sarkan.

The smile I got back from him was small but genuine, not like his sneers. “Not going to play coy?”

“Have I ever?”

“No, you most infuriating girl. You started out trying to push me down the stairs and laughing at me.” 

“I was half-hysterical from fear you meant to cook me. Or possibly rape me.” I pointed out. “You didn’t exactly provide me with any instructions as to my duties.”

He sniffed. “How difficult could it be to figure out you were suppose to prepare the meals?”

“I would have figured out it was up to me to cook. An ‘oh, by the way you’re going to be learning magic as well’ would have been helpful.”

Mother was headed back our way dragging my father with her. My father seemed to be objecting to being dragged away from his cronies. Mother was having none of it and gesturing in our direction with the hand not firmly around his elbow.

I could tell the minute he spotted the bottle of vodka from the way his eyes went wide and he stopped abruptly.

Mother nodded fiercely and proceeded to drag him over to the table. 

Father bowed awkwardly, his eyes glued to the bottle of vodka. He seemed to be having trouble taking it in. “My lord. Uhm, this is for our Agnieszka?”

Mother frowned at father. Sarkan, clearly _trying_ to be courteous said, “Yes. Shall we drink?”

I uncorked the bottle and poured into three mugs. Taking up the first, I drank some and then passed the remainder to Sarkan, accepting his proposal. Sarkan took the cup and knocked back the remaining vodka.

Father, at a nudge from mother, took one of the remaining mugs and completing the ritual intoned, “Agnieszka and Lord Sarkan, may you find joy, long life and… uhm, many children?”

“Well the long life is a given at least.” Sarkan responded.

I poured out more vodka. Conversation would be much smoother with liquor in hand.

Since no one else seemed to have any idea what to say next I started. “Where will we live?” This could well be a sticking point. Not even for Sarkan would I leave the valley to go to the capitol.

“Well, I’m not going to live in a tree trunk.” Sarkan snorted. ”I had thought the tower. With a few… additions to make it less… closed off.”

“That would be all right.” I could easily access the Wood from there and continue my work of cleaning it out. With Sarkan to help things would go much more quickly. 

“The tower will need some repairs before it’s habitable again.” Sarkan continued. “The temporary repairs I did before leaving have held, but only the library is fit to live in. Especially with winter coming on.”

“Of course your main concern was the library rather than, oh the kitchen or bedrooms.” I teased gently.

Mother and Father exchanged a look of astonishment.

“Those books represent over a century of collecting.” Sarkan growled. Then added, “The tower was built by magic. It will only take a few weeks to have the outer walls restored. By then we can replace enough of the furniture to make it habitable.

“I thought we would attach a glass house for you to use for your… plants.” The last word was said with distaste. “Although I draw the line at having a heart-tree growing in our living space.”

“They do better within the confines of the Wood anyway.” I told him. “Growing things won’t like being confined to the tower. Even with a glass roof.”

“A wing off the side made of wood and glass would do though. I’ve seen them constructed in the capitol.” He glanced at father. “We’ll need some good timber for the supports and beams.”

Father perked up at that. “The wood can be Agnieszka’s dowry. With good oak for the beams and paneling and spruce for the framing. Her brothers will help. We can have it ready in no time.”

Mother stood and took his hand. “We’ll go tell the boys and leave you two to talk.”

“That was nicely done.” I murmured to Sarkan.

“The truth that your skill is more valuable than any dowry would leave everyone unhappy.” Sarkan said. “This will save us a good deal of trouble all around.” 

He glanced at me. “And if anyone had told me that a year ago, I’d have called them mad. Those spells you cast early on somehow managed to be both completely inept and hugely overpowered at the same time. No structure. No science. It wasn’t until we jointly performed the illusion spell to create that rose that I had any idea what you were doing. I’m still not sure _how_ you’re able to do it, but you seem to somehow channel magic to just flow rather than using it to build structure.”

“So you decided to come back and study it some more?”

He glanced away embarrassed. “For the rest of our lives if you’ll let me.”

My breath caught for a moment. Then I murmured. “I was not certain you would come back.” 

“Neither was I.” He said. “But while I was at the capitol I found myself thinking of you. When one of the courtiers would do something ridiculous the first thing that came to mind was that Agnieszka would have no patience with that. Or when Kasia was playing with the King and Princess that you would have joined in the game.” He paused.

“Some would call that affection.” I suggested.

“So both Alosha and Kasia told me.” He grimaced. “Alosha advised me to ‘go bed the girl and get it out of your system. Your mooning about is scaring everyone half to death’.”

He glanced about before looking back to me and saying gruffly. “I did not tell her that had only made it worse. I think Kasia may have guessed.”

“She didn’t say anything.” I told him.

“No. Kasia knows to give people space when they need it.” 

“You seemed to have gotten to know her while away.” I was glad. 

“She gave me little choice.” He snorted. “According to her, anyone important to you is important to her. So like it or not we would be friends.”

I would greatly enjoy hearing this from Kasia’s perspective. 

“Thankfully there don’t seem to be that many more people you’re going to force into my life. Those great lummocks that are your brothers seem primarily bemused.” He nodded across the square where my parents had gathered my brothers. They did look bewildered.

“I’m their baby sister. It’s confusing enough to them that I turned out to be a witch. The idea that a man would take an interest in me is going to take some getting used to.” 

He muttered, “I suppose I should be glad they didn’t decide to try and protect your virtue with a cudgel. I don’t believe I’ve ever been more grateful to be a wizard. 

The smallest of my brothers would easily have made two of Sarkan. I had to agree that it was well they did not suspect we had already bedded. I would hate to see any of them turned to stone. 

The musicians were back from their rest and were striking up another dance tune. Sarkan tilted his head to listen.

“I know this one. It was popular in the capitol over a century ago.” He stood and extended his hand. “May I have this dance?”

I laughed and grabbed his hand. The familiar warmth felt good in the fall night. I suspected his warmth would always feel good. 

Together we joined the line of couples that was forming. The others dropped back to give us first position in the set. I heard some distinct giggles as Sarkan’s arm went round my waist. They quieted but did not disappear as he glowered over his shoulder. The distance he had always surrounded himself with was lessening.

He would get used to it. As my husband he would be part of the valley too.


End file.
